Language Preference as a Precursor to Displacement and ... · Joseph Babasola Osoba & Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu 111 Journal of Universal Language 17-2 Fall 2016, 111-143 Language

Joseph Babasola Osoba & Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu 111

Journal of Universal Language 17-2 Fall 2016, 111-143

Language Preference as a Precursor to

Displacement and Extinction in Nigeria:

The Roles of English Language and

Nigerian Pidgin

Joseph Babasola Osoba & Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu University of Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

The fact that language is primarily oral makes it naturally

susceptible to extinction or death. This is because there is the

tendency for its speakers to abandon it as a result of their

preference for a more prestigious language such as an official

second language or as result of a deliberate policy of the colonial

masters to discourage the development and the use of indigenous

languages for their selfish reasons as well as the unwholesome

adoption of the colonial master’s language as official language

Joseph Babasola Osoba

Department of English, University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu

Department of English, University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria Email: [email protected]

Received August 15, 2016; Revised September 1, 2016; Accepted September 10, 2016

mailto:[email protected]



112 Language Preference as a Precursor to Displacement and Extinction in Nigeria:~

after independence. Naturally, the Nigerian masses have adopted

Nigerian Pidgin to cope with the multilingual nature of their

metropolis. Without statistics, this sounds alarming. Because the

relevant sections of the National Policy on Education has not been

properly implemented, the aspect that relates to learning and using

the local languages has been largely ignored by most schools in

Nigeria. Using a qualitative (descriptive) and inferential approach,

we attempt to examine the roles of the English language and

Nigerian Pidgin viz-a-viz the gradual decline in the population of

speakers and endangerment of some Nigerian languages like Efik,

Ibibio, Igbo, Yoruba, and so on. A major finding is that most young

Nigerians cannot speak their own mother tongues, at all or well

enough, because their parents and their schools simply discourage

children from speaking them at home and at school respectively

where the indigenous languages are termed ‘vernaculars’.

Moreover, it is also discovered that most Nigerians switch between

English and Pidgin depending on whether the context/nature of

their communication is formal or informal. This points to the fact

that our indigenous languages are being displaced, endangered, and

may even be exterminated.

Keywords: language preference, indigenous languages, extinction,

endangerment

1. Introduction

Before the amalgamation of the Northern and the Southern

Protectorates of Nigeria in 1914 by Sir Fredrick Lugard, Nigerians

from diverse socio-cultural, ethnic, and linguistic extractions had

lived separately as different nations. But the amalgamation turned the

various ethnic and linguistic nationalities into nation states under the

British colonial rule with the imposition of English language as

official language of administration, commerce/business and other


official transactions. After Nigeria’s independence, in 1960, the

parliament had to retain the English language as Nigeria’s official

language because of the multi-ethnic and multilingual nature of the

country and because none of the ethnic compositions was ready to

forego its own language and accept another as national or official

lingual franca.

Gradually, this adoption led to a situation in which the native

languages have become neglected. Today, the prestige enjoyed by the

English language because of its official status, functions, and roles as

well as the currency and lingua franca status of Nigerian Pidgin,

which has almost taken over from the native languages as the only

language of Nigerian masses from diverse linguistic backgrounds,

has worsened the linguistic situations. Thus this scenario has led both

the English language and Nigerian Pidgin to become global

languages in Nigeria. As a result, the state of our native languages

has become so deplorable that prominent Nigerian linguists, such as

Prof. Ayo Bamgbose and Prof. Oladele Awobuluyi, with far-reaching

insights now think that they are, more or less, endangered and may

eventually go into extinction. The bilingual and multilingual nature

of the Nigerian nation may be considered a precipitous factor of this

situation. This factor has led to language preference which can be

considered a precursor to endangerment and threat of extinction of

some native languages. It is therefore important to examine the

linguistic situation in the present-day Nigeria.

2. The Linguistic Situation in the Present-day Nigeria

The linguistic situation in the present-day Nigeria appears to be

precipitously complex in terms of language preference and usage.


This is because most Nigerians now tend to use non-native languages,

like English and Pidgin, more often than the native counterparts in

their official and unofficial capacities. Negative social attitude

towards native languages and preference for prestigious non-native

official and unofficial languages such as the English language and

Nigerian Pidgin have been adduced as the primary cause of the

gradual decline in the population of Nigerians who speak their

mother tongues.

Even our traditional rulers who are regarded to be the custodians

of our cultures and languages disregard them at various social

occasions by speaking the English language when and where their

indigenous languages would have been more appropriate. This is the

case with many African countries, not just Nigeria, where many of

the numerous indigenous languages are noted to be dying or going

into extinction because the population of their speakers is declining

and dwindling as a result of the attitude of parents who prevent their

children from acquiring, learning, or speaking their mother tongues

which are considered inferior, substandard, and inappropriate for

social interaction in their multilingual communities (Osoba 2015;

2014a, b).

In its editorial comments of March 1, 2016, titled “Saving Our

Local Languages”, The Vanguard newspaper makes the following apt

observations which clearly capture the linguistic scenario of local

languages in Nigeria.13

a) That this year’s International Mother Language Day, which fell

on Sunday, February 21, 2016, served as a reminder that many

Nigerian languages and dialects are among the hundreds of

mother tongues on the verge of extinction.

13 http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/saving-our-local-languages/


b) That the grave concern over the rapidly shrinking wealth of

local languages and dialects in the world prompted the United

Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation

(UNESCO) to dedicate a special day for their preservation. (In

fact, UNESCO has factored the use of indigenous mother

languages into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The idea is to ensure the use of local languages in the teaching

of children to enable them gain a solid grounding in vernacular

before embracing the orthodox languages of instruction at

higher levels.)

c) That UNESCO’s Director General, Irina Bukova, emphasised

that mother languages “are essential components of quality

education which is, itself the foundation for empowering

women and men and their soceities”.

d) That languages go extinct when they fall out of use and there

are few people alive who can speak them. (This takes place

when the act of transferring these languages from one

generation to another weakens or no longer takes place because

the people have turned to the use of a foreign or non-native

language.)

e) That the modern phenomena of migration, urbanisation,

westernization, and globalisation have wreaked great havoc on

local languages, dialects, and values in Nigeria. (Few young

people in urban areas, especially those of minority cultures, can

speak their local languages and dialects.)

f) That even the three majority languages — Hausa, Igbo, and

Yoruba — are getting endangered to varying degrees. (This is

especially true for the Igbo language and dialects, maybe

because of the excessive migratory patterns of Igbo speaking

people.)


g) That parents are very fond of communicating with their children

in English but when discussing among themselves they do so in

their local dialects, thus unwittingly shutting their children

away from imbibing their natural, mother tongue.

h) That we must, as a nation, wake up to the dangers of losing our

local languages and dialects. (Every great nation on earth

socialises the populace to communicate effectively in their local

languages. They do not speak English or French in China,

Russia, or any part of the Arab world. They speak their local

languages. South Africa now has nine official languages, and

most South Africans speak more than one of these languages. It

is a product of deliberate government policy.)

i) That the Federal Government must lead in the struggle to save

our languages, dialects, and values from total loss. (We should

teach kindergarten and junior primary children in local

languages of their choice or locality. We should encourage

Nigerians to speak their languages and dialects and learn to

speak other Nigerian languages. This will further our

integration and strengthen our national identity.)

The scenario in Nigeria is not as a result of the lack of a language

policy in Nigeria. Rather, it was precipitated or warranted by non-

implementation of the relevant sections of the nation’s National

Policy on Education. Today, evidence from numerous social and

official interactions and occasions clearly indicate that the trend is

the preference for non-native or apolitical linguistic forms such as

English and NP.


3. Language Endangerment/Displacement

Language displacement usually precipitates language extinction or

death. When the population of the speakers of a language begins to

decline rather than grow, it may lead to the extinction of that

language. Language displacement which occurs in a community

because of specific social environments as well as preference for a

particular language or dialect in a multilingual speech community

may also result in language extinction. This is perhaps why language

displacement and preference usually underlie language endangerment

which may later metamorphosed into language extinction.

The scenario in the Nigerian sociolinguistic milieu paints a

pathetic picture of several local languages being endangered as a

result of their displacement by the English language and Nigerian

Pidgin (NP) in terms of their traditional roles, functions, and statuses.

Blessing Eluan Douglas’ (2012: 2) observation of language situation

in Bayelsa State is instructive here. In the institutions of learning in

this State, students seem to speak NP more than English or any of the

indigenous languages because it has become the lingua franca of the

people living in that part of Nigeria. The worrisome reality is that

most of the local languages in the Niger-Delta region have been

displaced by NP. This pathetic situation is also observable in the case

of most languages, in the Middle Belt and the core north, on which

the Hausa language seems to have been superimposed. Thus Hausa

may be seen as a threat to the other languages of the North as they

are in danger of disappearing because of the dwindling population of

their speakers. A similar observation had earlier been made by Brann

(1989: 230) in his suggestion that “Smaller groups can only survive

ethnolinguistically if they group together with congeners and

cognates …”


4. Language Preference in Nigeria

Since time immemorial, preference for one language or another

has characterized the human condition in linguistically

heterogeneous societies such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania. Kul

(2007: 14) explains that the word Preference which comes from

French préférer meaning put before, transfer, conveyance commonly

refers to a choice, real or hypothetical, between alternatives. These

alternatives can be rank ordered. Preference implies the existence of

two opposites: preferred and dis-preferred. There can be a wide

spectrum of less or more preferred between them which entails that

preferences are invariably organized along a hierarchy. The concept

of preferred evokes the notions of better and more frequent and,

consequently, a better choice is always preferred, and, in turn, more

popular in terms of distribution. In the Nigerian context, the

preference for English or the local language among Educated

Nigerians is susceptible to a myriad of factors such as cultural,

economic, educational, and political. Language preference could

therefore be viewed as a universal phenomenon which manifests

itself in the way we make choices in language behavior. It is

therefore imperative to examine the motivations which explain the

language preference of many Nigerians.

Experiences have shown that we also indicate aspects of our social

identity through the way we talk. When interlocutors engage in a

discourse one can infer who they are and their speech will give a clue

as to their language preference and attitudes. The social significance

between the choice of words or language choice when one linguistic

code is preferred to another in formal or informal domain tends to be

determined by its appropriate context. For example, consider

Ayomide, an undergraduate who speaks copious Nigerian Pidgin


while in the hostel with his friends from different parts of Nigeria,

who are all proficient in English, but discusses in flawless English

with his professor when talking about his long essay. He, however,

speaks Yoruba when he is among his friends who share his linguistic

background.

Scholars are showing renewed attention by investigating the

indices of these variations and why one language should take pre-

eminence over another in social, religious, political, educational, and

economic domains. The rest of the world cannot afford to wait for

‘only English’ usage and native-like proficiency when recent

estimates of speakers of English as second, foreign or other

languages out-number native speakers (Kachru 1996, Graddol 1997,

Widdowson 1997, Pakir 1999, Mckay 2003, Jenkins 2006).

Language preference in Nigeria is also characterized by the

sociolinguistic phenomena of code-switching and code-mixing in

semi-formal contexts. Code-switching is a phenomenon of making

one utterance in one language and another in a different language

within the same discourse e.g., eyin akeeko o ya. Let us go ‘Students,

its time, let us go’ (code-switching involving Yoruba and English).

On the other hand, code-mixing is a phenomenon of making use of

elements of two languages in the same utterance e.g., Awon foot-

ballers yen perform well ‘Those footballers perform well’: or O sure

ju ‘It’s certain’ (English code-mixed with Yoruba). Ogunnaike &

Dunhan (2010) strongly believe that the language we speak may

influence not only our thoughts but also our implicit preference as

well. In a study which they carried out at Harvard University it was

revealed that bilingual individuals’ opinions of different ethnic

groups were affected by the language in which they took a test

examining their biases and predilections. A question asked in one

language generated a positive answer while the same question in


another language elicited a different response: “It’s like asking your

friend if he likes ice-cream in English and then turning around and

asking him again in French and getting a different answer.” This

implies that the preference for a language can elicit a positive

response when the listener is favourably disposed towards such.

Many English-Yoruba bilinguals in Nigeria will prefer the use of

Yoruba to English in an informal setting where the speaker puts on

aso oke traditional attire). To address such a gathering using a

foreign language is considered inappropriate. A personal experience I

had during his National Youth Service Corps programme in Bauchi

State in northern Nigeria was that a typical Hausa trader gave

preferential treatment to a customer who said “na wah ni” to

another who said “how much”. In extreme cases, some youth corps

members who cannot speak Hausa were treated with outright

hostility such as “ba turenchi” or “turenchi banza” (‘no English’ or

‘useless English’, respectively). Nigerians tend to vacillate between

the prestige and the local variety in their choice of either English or

their native language. In the formal setting, where the use of the

English language serves their utilitarian purpose, the local language

tends to be less preferred but the opposite is generally the case in an

informal situation because of their sentimental attachment to the

local language.

Kurniasih’s (2005) study on “Language Preference” among

Javanese in Indonesia confirms human beings’ ambivalent attitude

when one language is given an enhanced status over another.

Subjects in the study make comments showing that Language

Preference raises the questions of identity and perception of self. “I

USE Javanese because I am Javanese”, “I SPEAK Indonesia because

I want to get ahead as an Indonesian.” Arua’s (2010) study on

language preference in Botswana shows that although many of the


children possess two or three languages, they prefer only one-

Setswana, the indigenous language. However, their parents prefer

them to speak English especially in school and playground. They

resent the use of English at home. In the Nigerian setting too parents

prefer nursery schools that adopt the ‘straight for English’ policy in

schools where their children speak English at all times.

In revealing language loyalty leanings, preference that informs the

choice of language is conditioned by sociolinguistic variables such as

the interlocutor, the subject of discourse, the purpose of discourse as

well as the occasion. For example, an educated Nigerian may use

English among some friends who do not speak his own first language

even when his attitude to the language is ambivalent. In other words,

the choice of language is dictated primarily by the milieu in which

the speaker finds himself. Therefore, educated Nigerians may hate

what the English language is doing to their mother tongues but they

love its effectiveness in getting along when they consider its

economic, social, political, and educational importance. A mini

language survey we carried out to investigate the language

preference of some Nigerians to an indigenous language (Yoruba)

and English in formal domains reveals interesting results enough to

provoke fresh insight about new inroads the English language has

made in Nigeria’s sociolinguistic landscape.

Subjects consist of 800 respondents who were asked to tick a

corresponding box to their preferred options which include: Strongly

Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D), and Strongly Disagree (SD).

They were drawn from across the South-West and North-Central

geo-political zones of the country where Yoruba language is spoken.

The selection was done through a stratified sampling technique and

respondents were drawn from the South-West zone comprising the

following states: Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Oyo, and Ekiti,


(LOOOOE) States; and the North Central zone comprising Kwara

and Kogi (KK) States on the basis of 100 participants per state.

Nwana (1981: 70) argues that “there is no fixed and inviolate rule

regarding the size of the sample”. Subjects for the study were in two

categories. The first, numbering 400 were those who have had

secondary school education. The second category was also 400

comprising those who have had some form of higher education like

University, Polytechnic, College of Education or equivalent.

Table 1. Yoruba-English Bilinguals’ Preference for Use of English in

Formal Domain

S/N ITEM SA A SD D TOTAL

1

(SE)

I prefer

speaking

English

most often

250

31.25%

350

43.75%

95

11.875%

105

13.125%

800

100%

2

(RE)

I read better

in English

235

29.375%

360

45%

95

11.875%

110

13.75%

800

100%

3

(WE)

I write more

letters in

English

252

31.5%

365

45.625%

95

11.875%

88

11%

800

100%

4

(PE)

I Prefer

English to

Yoruba as

official

language

160

20%

280

35%

140

17.5%

220

27.5%

800

100%


Figure 1. Yoruba-English Bilinguals’ Preference for Use of English

in Formal Domain

* SE = Speak English Most Often, RE = Read Better in English, WE =

Write More in English, PE = Prefers English.

The preference for the preponderance use of English in the formal

domain validates the role English plays in the day to day lives of the

respondents being a second language in Nigeria.

5. Language Death/Extinction

The idea of language death presupposes its opposite, language

birth. Where one superordinate language is imposed on others in a

survival of the fittest struggle, the dominant language may swallow

the ‘inferior’ ones leading to language endangerment and

subsequently extinction and death. However, depending on the

linguistic geography and sociopolitical structure of the society new

languages may evolve as in Pidginisation and Creolization as

observable in many parts of the world. Crystal (2000) affirms that “a

language dies when nobody speaks it anymore”. A language thrives

and survives as long as someone speaks it and has someone to speak

0

100

200

300

400

SE RE WE PE

SA

A

SD

D


it to. United Kingdom Foundation for Endangered Languages (FEL)

reported the Mambilla case in Adamawa province where Kasabe

language died when Boyon the last speaker died just before the

researcher could complete an attempt to rescue the language from

going into extinction. A situation where a language existed on 4th

November, 1995 but ceased to exist the next day paints a grim

picture of the challenges sociolinguists face on the reality of

Language endangerment and death.

Brezinger (1998) argues that language death has always been

taking place in Middle Belt Nigeria. He gave an example of the

sociolinguistic situation regarding major expansions of languages

that led to turmoil in the area because many languages have

disappeared due to language displacement and assimilation. Hausa,

Kanuri, and Tiv enjoy a lot of patronage but often Hausa is always

overriding other languages. The Basawa people who once had Bassa

as their major language now speak only Hausa.

The Nigerian situation has witnessed some of these recognizable

factors responsible for language death. According to Brezinger (1998)

a language moves from endangerment to death when:

1) It is assimilated to larger, more powerful groups nearby.

2) It is assimilated to smaller but culturally dominant groups.

3) It is assimilated to English as an official language.

4) It is assimilated to demographic crises caused by labour

migration and urbanization.

In South-west Nigeria, Yoruba as the lingua franca has dominated

other variants of its type. For example, Ijebu, Ilaje, Ikale, Ondo,

Igbomina, Egun, Egba are all subsumed under Oyo Yoruba which is

regarded as Standard Yoruba due to its sociopolitical importance.


However, Crystal (2000) strongly believes that Yoruba has been

called ‘deprived’ because of the way it has come to be dominated by

English as the language of higher education in Nigeria.

Language death of some Nigerian languages in the north was

reported by Ujorha (2013) where he talks of the ‘The Dying

Languages of Illo’ in Kebbi state. The study shows that many of the

languages spoken in Ilo are dying. The older generations speak the

languages, but the younger generation can hardly utter their mother

tongues. However, they speak a lot of Hausa, and their fluency in the

tongue improves with every passing day. Today, they are already

rivalling native speakers of Hausa. Languages such as Zabarmanci,

Dandanci, and Busanci are declining rapidly. The district head of the

area Mallam Tudun Giri lamented that:

Hardly would you find people who can speak these

languages fluently today, without putting in some words of

Hausa. Hausa had significantly influenced these languages,

and it has come to dominate the other languages. When you

go to the large Lolo market, you will find people speaking

these languages, but you will see that generally they are now

Hausa speaking population. The younger generations are not

being taught the language.

Professor Gbenga Ibileye of the Department of English, Ahmadu

Bello University, Zaria, who sees this development as a looming

extinction sheds light on the factors which endanger a language. He

explains that:

A major indicator of an endangered language is when the

younger people of the community no longer speak the


language. If you make a cursory assessment of these

languages, you find that children no longer speak these

languages, rather they speak English. When the present

generation of older people go, we will be left with children

who cannot speak their indigenous languages, including the

so-called major Nigerian languages.

Mallam Mamman’s article of March 3, 1985 in Sunday New

Nigerian gives a strident dimension towards a decolonization of our

languages. He argued that for the survival of their languages,

Nigerians should forget their differences and unite for a common

goal, a goal of waging war against the English language, a war of

decolonizing our languages before our next generation will one day

wake up to find themselves speaking English as their only language.

He warned that it would be unfortunate and shameful for them to

come and discover that they will have no cultural heritage

(linguistically) to hand over to their own children except the foreign

one.

6. The Role of English in Nigeria’s

Socio-Cultural Milieu

The Nigerian society remains one of the most complex speech

communities in the world (Bamgbose 1991, Banjo 1995). Since

language use or usage is determined by sociolinguistic factors such

as age, status, education, location, gender, and so on, the linguistic

scenario in most of 36 States of the Federation and the Federal

capital territory has remained diverse and complex with English

language as a major interactional language among the vast populace


in many cities. The exchange below exemplifies the great divide

between many Nigerians on the role of the English language in

Nigeria’s socio-cultural milieu.

Citizen A: We must use it. It is the language of national unity.

It fosters interethnic communication.

It is a global language.

Without it, Nigeria is doomed.

Citizen B: Don’t use it. It is a foreign language.

It destroys our culture.

It is a killer language swallowing other

languages on its path.

We need our own national language.

‘Tiwa ntiwa’. Ours is ours.

Despite the ambivalence exhibited by these two citizens, it is

indisputable that English has come to play a central role in the

national, political, and socio-cultural lives of Nigerians. The

multilingual needs of the modern day world citizen require him to

reckon with the all-purpose utilitarian functions of the English

language. Due to globalization and eco-tourism the world has shrunk

to fit the palm.

The following is an overview of the role of English in Nigeria’s

socio-cultural landscape:

1) As a Lingua Franca:

Nigeria’s multilingual nature has propelled English to

enjoy unrivalled dominance as a neutral language or no

man’s language. Major ethnic groups competing for

national identity and survival feel at home in a common


tongue that belongs to none. Not surprisingly, Bamgbose

(1991) submits that of all the heritage left behind in

Nigeria by the British … none is more important than the

English language. English is the only effective medium of

communication between Nigerians from different

linguistic backgrounds. When parties and social

gatherings like house warming, naming ceremonies and

church programs are organized English is invariably the

medium of communication because of the diverse nature

of the audience. The English language is therefore

regarded as the language of national unity.

2) Official language:

All government affairs in Nigeria are conducted in

English. These are official memos, gazettes, edicts, law

reports, and Hansards. The national anthem and the

pledge are worded in English. English is the language of

presidential address and transactions. The constitution of

Nigeria is fashioned in English and only feeble attempts

are made to translate it into indigenous languages. The

coat of arms, the national flag, motions for bills in state

houses of assembly, and the national assembly are

couched in English.

3) Language of the Mass media:

Almost all the media use English to transmit information

to the masses. All the national newspapers like The

Guardian press, The punch, The Tribune are all published

in English. Radio and television programmes are

broadcast in English. News reports and analyses are

conducted in English. Magazines, sports, tabloid, and

gossip periodicals are all written in the English language.


4) Language of Education:

The National Policy on Education (NPE) bestows

unqualified dominance of the English language right from

the early life of the Nigerian child. Section 3 paragraph

15(4) of the National Policy on Education (NPE 2005)

revised, stipulates that English should be used at the later

stage of primary education. This implies that at basic 4

primary educations, the Nigeria child’s exposure to

English has started in earnest. Even where the community

is linguistically heterogeneous like Lagos and Jos, a

straight for English or early English medium policy is

adopted right from the first day in school. Some school

even label their classes Do not speak vernacular with the

implication that English enjoys more prominence over the

local languages. Wole Soyinka’s plays, Chinua Achebe

novels, Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and reference

sources in the library are accessed in English. All courses

in our higher institutions including law, medicine,

engineering, etc. have their curriculum content fashioned

in English. Admission to higher institutions depends on a

credit level pass in English. Proficiency courses in

English like TOEFL, TESL, and SAT are run to enable

Nigerians get overseas education. This is to prepare them

for educational advancement and prestigious employment.

5) Language of Business and Commerce:

English is used for trading transactions among the various

ethnic groups in the country. Industrial advertisements

like Life is Good for L.G. products, Rule your world by

GLO, Happy customer, happy banking by some

commercial banks are common in the business world.


Cheques, tellers, invoices, and proposals are prepared in

English. Business records and contracts are similarly

drawn in the English language.

6) Language of External Affairs:

The international status of English requires Nigeria to

adopt it for external affairs. Organs like United Nations

(UNO), African Union (AU), World Health Organization

(WHO), Economic Community for West African States

(ECOWAS) are a comity of nations which uses English as

a global language.

7) Language of Information and Communication

Technology (ICT):

With the coming of the internet, English has been given

higher responsibilities. Known as the information super

highway, web surfing, cyber spacing, chartroom, face

booking, e-mailing, and text messaging have rubbed off

on Nigeria as a result of globalization. Computer experts

have argued that the computer speaks English. If any

global citizen wishes to engage in a digital discourse, the

common currency required is the use of English through

the internet. Some 80% of the on-line contents are in

English. Many Nigerians are now getting internet

compliant as upward mobility and international exposure

are now becoming increasingly digitalized. Our

professors hitherto known as eggheads are now referred

to as net-heads.

It is however interesting to remark that English has started to make

inroads into some areas formerly regarded as sacrosanct and which

are the preserve of Nigeria’s culture and tradition. Our royal


institutions now engage in discourse using the English language as

more roles are now assigned to it even in informal setting in Nigeria.

Adegbite & Babalola (2008) illustrates that the Olubadan of

Ibadanland, a renowned royal father in South-west Nigeria attunes

his choice of language to the prevailing situation. He addresses (i)

representatives of traders’ associations in Yoruba, (ii) a group of

visiting academics of Ibadan origin in both Yoruba and English, (iii)

a group of journalists in English, and (iv) a group of mixed (i.e.,

Yoruba and non-Yoruba) visitors in English. Similarly, when a fund

raising activity was organized in a communal setting a distinguished

professor of Yoruba was requested to present the guest lecture in

English in order for the address to get to a wider audience. Of course,

the professor had to oblige, in his own words, against his personal

wish and desire. While nothing may be inherently wrong with the

organizers’ goal of reaching a wider audience, one may ask if the

preference should not be for the immediate audience who are mainly

Yoruba.

However, a breath of fresh air came with some institutional efforts

like those of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba in Ondo State

which delivered its 2013 convocation address in Yoruba language.

Titled: ‘Kini A Fe Fi Ede Yoruba Se?’ (‘What do we do with Yoruba

language?’), the lecture was given by the renowned literary and

academic author, Professor Akinwunmi Ishola. This is a watershed

among the academia in the efforts towards the revalorization of our

indigenous languages. Concerted efforts are therefore required to

further sanitize our cultural sense of belonging as the indigenous

languages now being given a new breath of life and safety net from

the brink of extinction.


7. The Role of Nigerian Pidgin in Nigeria’s

Socio-Cultural Milieu

The role of Nigerian Pidgin in Nigeria’s socio-cultural milieu has

been well-explicated by Osoba (2014a) where it is noted that the

growing popularity of Nigerian Pidgin (NP) is not restricted to only

social interaction, but dating back to the early 60’s, its adoption by

the late foremost Nigerian jazz and popular music icon, Fela

Anikulapo Kuti, apart from Yoruba, his mother tongue, as the

language of his music. Thus from the 1960’s until his death in 1997,

much of his music was in Nigerian Pidgin. This well-documented

fact by Carlos Moore (2010: 1) affirms that much (about 90%) of his

works from the 1970s until his death in 1997 was in Pidgin.

Moreover, in a Special Lecture at the Faculty of Arts, University of

Lagos, on October 13, 2010, Carlos Moore strongly advocated the

use of Nigerian Pidgin as a national lingua franca as Agheyisi (1984),

Elugbe & Omamor (1991), Osoba (2000), and others had earlier

suggested.

Not surprisingly, NP has had a phenomenal growth as a common

language in Nigeria today. Realistically, empirical evidence now

suggests it has the widest currency among Nigerians from diverse

ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Curiously, this currency tends to

be a reflection of language choice or preference of Nigerians from all

walks of life in music, social interaction, religious activities/events,

mass media broadcasting, and literary works even at the primary

level of education in places like Asaba Warri, Sapele, and Port-

Harcourt. More so, its profile in Ajegunle Town, advertises it as

adorable lingua franca for residents from diverse ethnic and

linguistic backgrounds. In terms of function, form, structure, and

status, it is a prestigious creole for the vast majority of those who


now speak it as a primary or first language. The precipitation of this

unusual development of the NP, noted by Donwa-Ifode (1984), in the

use of Nigerian Pidgin (NP) in Port-Harcourt has graciously led to its

unofficial adoption as lingua franca of the Nigerian masses.

As already noted many published and unpublished literary works

either fully or partly written in Nigerian Pidgin such as Major

General Mamman Vatsa’s poem, ‘Tori for Get Bow Leg’; Ken Saro

Wiwa’s ‘Soza Boy’; Aig Imoukhuede’s ‘My Pidgin Stew and

Sufferhead’; Fadaka’s Pidgin Translation of the Universal Human

Rights can be found in their hard copies or electronic version on the

internet. In the works of prominent Nigerian literary icons such as

Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Festus Iyayi, Gabriel Okara, and Niyi

Osundare, Nigerian Pidgin (NP) can be clearly seen as

prominent.

Moreover, the elite covertly appear to enjoy the flavor and air of

fun and cordiality that Nigerian Pidgin profusely and naturally

exudes, especially in informal situations. Thus this trend, in its

currency, is most visible in the mass media (television, radio,

magazines, and newspapers), hospitals, police stations, schools,

higher institutions of learning, government offices, etc. In Nigeria’s

democratic dispensation, NP has become embraced as the language

of political jingles and campaigns by politicians and political jobbers

to woo the masses and win their votes in the electronic and print

media. This strategy was adopted by the late Chief MKO Abiola

(1993 Presidential Elections), ex-President Goodluck Jonathan (2011

Presidential Elections), and President Mohammed Buhari (2015

Presidential Elections) to win their various elections (Osoba 2014a:

26-27).

Blessing Douglas’ (2012), in an unpublished Master of Arts’

dissertation entitled “The Status of Nigerian Pidgin and Other


Indigenous Languages in Bayelsa State Tertiary Institutions”,

provides a succinct picture and analytical details of the worrisome

linguistic milieu in most of the tertiary institutions in that particular

State. While focusing on the comparative status of Nigerian Pidgin

among local indigenous languages in regions where it is in common

use, she identifies the preference of NP in place of mother tongues

and English (except in situations requiring strictly only English) by

majority of her subjects who were tertiary institution students. With

that trend, her conclusion is the inevitability of NP completely

displacing the ethnic languages in the parts of the State which

constituted her sample population. Sadly, one of her observations is

that, as a result of the preference for NP, many of the students in the

tertiary institutions in the State could not improve their performance

and competence in English and their mother tongues (Douglas 2012:

87). Some of her findings are encapsulated in the following tables

(ibid: 60):

Table 2. Percentage Distribution of the Respondents by Frequency in

the Usage of Nigerian Pidgin

How often do you use Pidgin

English in your day-to-day

interaction with fellow students

Frequency Percentage

Often 77 38.9

Very often 69 34.84

Seldom 32 16.16

Not at all 20 10.10

Total 198 100


Figure 2. Percentage Distribution of the Respondents by Frequency

in the Usage of Nigerian Pidgin

The frequency table analysis showed that 38.88% often use

Nigerian Pidgin in their day-to-day interaction with fellow students,

followed by 34.34% that spoke it very often. On the other hand,

16.16% seldom spoke it while 10.10% of the entire group did not

speak Pidgin at all.

8. The Effects of the Roles of English and Nigerian

Pidgin as Global Languages

The roles and status of English and Nigerian Pidgin as global

languages have effects which can be linked to the precarious state in

which our native languages have found themselves in Nigeria today.

As espoused by Osoba (2014c: 71-74), this deplorable scenario was

precipitated by both external influences and lack of interest in their

use and development by the natives as a result of their preference for

global languages. This point was illustrated with a warning

lamentation by Professor Wande Abimbola, a former Vice-

Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, at the 3rd

Oodu’a Distinguised Lecture, in November 2010 that:


the language of Yoruba and all enviable Yoruba cultural

endowments could go into extinction … In most homes,

some educated people now find it difficult to communicate

with their children in their mother tongue.

From his observations, it appears that the Yoruba indigenes may

have lost or are losing much of their cultural endowment like

drumming, songs, folktales, and dressing because of their recognition

of the English language at the expense of their mother tongue. The

reason for this is not far-fetched.

The attitude of Nigerians to their indigenous languages tends to be

negative in both formal and informal situations. Most parents tend to

discourage their children or wards from using their mother tongues

especially at school and among extended family members and

friends while encouraging them to speak favoured English. This

negative attitude can also be noted when family members exchange

greetings or pleasantries in English rather in their mother tongues.

This phenomenon has been observed not to be peculiar to Nigeria

but rather global since it is found in most countries where English is

used as a second language. In a paper by Charity Turano & Mary

Malimas (2013: 61-83), it is clear, from their findings, that Filipino

children prefer to use English both at home and at school as a result

of their parents’ and teachers’ positive disposition to English.

Buttressing this point, an apt reference is made to the fear

expressed by the Chairman, Governing Board, that “some Nigerian

languages may suffer total extinction in a few years due to neglect

National Institute for Cultural Orientation, Ambassador Abubakar

Ibrahim Ganyama, in August 2010 by organisations and other bodies

responsible for language and cultural preservation in Nigeria.”

However, a graphic picture painted in the Vanguard of September


23, 2011 in an opinion column entitled “Nigeria: Saving Igbo

Language from Extinction” is said to make the situation desperately

pathetic. The extract below is shown as an index and portrayal of the

situation of most indigenous languages in Nigeria:

1) … some decades ago, stories were told about school

children being slammed with all manners of punishment

for speaking Igbo in the classroom!

2) … any student that offered Igbo language in school

certificate examination was laughed to scorn.

3) … Back in individual Igbo homes, parents no longer told

scintillating, entertaining, and educative folktales to their

children. Several families no longer find it fashionable to

talk to their children in Igbo language or teach them Igbo

idioms and proverbs.

4) Everyman, irrespective of his relationship to an Igbo child

of this day and age, has since transformed into an “uncle”.

For the women, they turned “aunties”.

The question then is, if the above points are true of Igbo, one of

the three major Nigerian languages, they must be true of all or most

of our indigenous languages today.

9. Panacea for Revalorization/Revival of Interest in

Indigenous Languages

Having highlighted the sorry state of our indigenous languages, we

now provide panacea for their revalorization/revival of interest. It is

our candid belief that the situation can be addressed by language


empowerment and cultural awareness. International organisations

like Centre for Blacks and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC)

should be encouraged to continue to give impetus for the promotion

of African languages as tools for sustainable growth and

development.

The mass media should also be encouraged to propagate and

consolidate the enhancement of our indigenous languages. Broadcast,

debates, and dramas should be carried out in these languages so that

we can further preserve our identity. It is disheartening to note that

70% of the programmes aired on our radios and televisions are laden

with English. Despite the National Broadcasting Corporation

guidelines stipulating high percentage local content, many media

outfits find it convenience to flout such directives. With the

deregulation of the broadcasting industry, many private owners

prefer most of their programmes aired in English. This must change

if we want our indigenous languages to develop beyond the present

state.

Private contributions like those of Yeye Olade of African Heritage

Research library, Ibadan will boost the status of the local languages if

nurtured to fruition. As a black American, who returned to Nigeria

for language and cultural rejuvenation, she pioneered a

sociolinguistic experiment which recognizes pure Yoruba as the

correct form of communication. In an article in The Guardian of

August 3, 2005, she describes expressions like ‘Kilo happen’, ‘kosi

problem’, ‘Keni nice day’, etc. as:

an attempt to give prominence to English which is a ready-

made weapon of British-American cultural imperialism that

tends to destroy not only African languages but also

attacking other languages worldwide (ibid: 65).


Her stern recommendation is the French government measures,

which threaten to sack French broadcasters who pollute French with

English in general French conversation. She strongly advocates the

principle of ‘War Against English Words Entering Yoruba’ and

enjoins clubs and organizations to float ‘Best Yoruba Speaker Award’

which must be sponsored at local and national levels. In her view,

that notable writers like Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka should have

bilingual publications of their works. While some scholars may see

Yeye Olade’s position as avant-garde or xenophobic, it is possible

that a moderate adaptation of her recommendations will go a long

way in giving an impetus to the enhancement of our indigenous

languages.

The Federal and State Governments should revive the moribund

language centres and encourage language development activities.

There should be some enforcement of the language policy that each

State Assembly should conduct debates and deliberations in the

constitutionally recognized national languages apart from English as

done in Lagos State.

Orthographies of the local languages should be developed and

more terminologies evolved to reflect modern experience. With the

advent of information technology, the indigenous languages should

be given their right of place.

Apart from the fact that Google has listed Yoruba in its search

machine, a pioneering initiative known as the Kamusi project has

been launched by Yale University in America aimed at translating

African languages and learning/teaching Kiswahili on the Internet.

Websites on local language centres and relevant information are now

accessible in the interest making the web a new space for African

languages. Other languages listed to benefit from the Yale

Experiment are Nigeria’s Hausa, Uganda’s Luganda, Kenya’s


Kikuyu, Burundi’s Kirundi, and Somalia’s Somali. It is a welcome

development that the Internet now serves as a platform for Africans

to communicate with friends and relatives in their indigenous

languages now being given a new breath of life and safety net from

the brink of extinction. Similar efforts should be replicated at home.

10. Conclusions

Having explicated the precarious state of our indigenous languages

in Nigeria, we propose that some if not all of the measures adduced

in Section 9 be taken in other to stem the worsening trend and avert a

catastrophic situation resulting in the extinction or death of our

beloved cultures, ethnicities, and languages. Our study reveals that

there is now a general trend of preference for the choice of English

for interaction in formal and informal contexts. Some Nigerians are

also beginning to use English and Pidgin more than local languages.

The dominance and over-utilization of English to the detriment of

other indigenous languages cannot but have some negative effects on

our national aspirations. The paper affirms that if Nigeria is to make

a distinctive contribution to global progress, there has to be synergy

between English and the indigenous languages by harnessing

linguistic resources without foreclosing the contributions that any of

these languages can make. We also suggest possible ways of

assigning more roles to the indigenous languages in several domains

to prevent a situation where the English language will obfuscate not

only the Nigerian cultural values but its linguistic independence. The

onus is on the government and the entire citizenry to demonstrate

more commitment towards the empowerment of the indigenous

languages. Our traditional rulers, language scholars, the mass media,


novelists and concerned patriots must put all hands on deck to

resuscitate some of Nigerian languages on the brink of extinction.

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Language Preference as a Precursor to Displacement and ... · Joseph Babasola Osoba & Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu 111 Journal of Universal Language 17-2 Fall 2016, 111-143 Language